Backbench revolt forces PM to drop Israel support

[shaayecanaan]

JULIA GILLARD has been forced to withdraw Australia's support for Israel in an upcoming United Nations vote after being opposed by the vast majority of her cabinet and warned she would be rolled by the caucus.

As a result, Australia will abstain from a vote in the United Nations General Assembly on a resolution to give Palestine observer status in the UN, rather than join the United States and Israel in voting against the resolution as Ms Gillard had wanted.

In a direct rebuff of her leadership, Ms Gillard was opposed by all but two of her cabinet ministers - Bill Shorten and Stephen Conroy, both of the Victorian Right - during a heated meeting on Monday night.

She was then warned by factional bosses she faced a defeat by her own backbench when the caucus met on Tuesday morning.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Bob Carr, who met Ms Gillard before cabinet, drove the push to oppose the Prime Minister.

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/backbench-revolt-forces-pm-to-drop-israel-support-20121127-2a61d.html





http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/backbench-revolt-forces-pm-to-drop-israel-support-20121127-2a61d.html

[shaayecanaan]

1. France to back Palestine on UN push for observer status

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/france-to-back-palestine-on-un-push-for-observer-status/story-e6frg6so-1226525430119

and the UK will vote yes if certain preconditions are met:-

On Monday night, the government signalled it would change tack and vote yes if the Palestinians modified their application, which is to be debated by the UN general assembly in New York later this week. As a "non-member state", Palestine would have the same status as the Vatican.

Whitehall officials said the Palestinians were now being asked to refrain from applying for membership of the international criminal court or the international court of justice, which could both be used to pursue war crimes charges or other legal claims against Israel.

Abbas is also being asked to commit to an immediate resumption of peace talks "without preconditions" with Israel. The third condition is that the general assembly's resolution does not require the UN security council to follow suit.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/nov/27/uk-ready-to-back-palestine-statehood

[Jefferson23]

2. Very good! n/t

[Recursion]

3. Wow. Bibi's gamble looks to be going south... (nt)

[KimonoGirl]

4. Fantastic news!

I'm English, so the UK better not disappoint. I'm counting on you Cameron to not screw this up like you do pretty much everything else as PM.

[shaayecanaan]

5. Welcome to DU -nt-

[shaayecanaan]

6. Humiliating defeat forces Gillard to back down over Palestinian vote

It was a rare and humiliating backdown for a prime minister.

And it was an important marker in Australian political sentiment about the impassioned dispute between Israel and the Palestinians.

Gillard had insisted that Australia vote against giving Palestine observer status in the UN General Assembly; her party forced her to change Australia's position to abstaining instead.

Only seven countries are expected to vote against the move to upgrade Palestinian recognition - Israel, the US, Canada, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau and the Marshall Islands. If Gillard had prevailed, Australia would have been the eighth.

Ten ministers representing both Labor factions spoke against the Prime Minister's stated position in a long Cabinet debate; Tony Burke, Chris Bowen, Bob Carr, Simon Crean, Craig Emerson, Martin Ferguson, and Peter Garrett from the Right and Anthony Albanese, Mark Butler and Greg Combet from the Left.

Only two spoke in support of Gillard's position; Stephen Conroy and Bill Shorten, both from the Right.

In the debate, it was pointed out that one of Labor's staunchest friends of Israel, the former prime minister Bob Hawke, had been on the phone urging ministers to cast Australia's vote as an abstention.

Israel's policy of allowing continuing expansion of Israeli settlements on was sabotaging peace, Hawke argued, and Israel's friends had to send it a message.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/humiliating-defeat-forces-gillard-to-back-down-over-palestinian-vote-20121127-2a5vc.html#ixzz2DULEZyKT